A lady came every morning to teach Fanny, but Mrs Leslie had begged
that she might have a holiday in consequence of her papa's and mamma's
arrival, and that she might have more time to play with her little
brother.
Fanny had been anxiously considering how she could best amuse him.
"What should you like to do, Norman?" she asked, putting her arm
affectionately round his neck. "You see I am a girl, and perhaps I may
like many things that you will not care about. Let me consider. We can
arrange my doll's house, or we can play at paying visits; and I have two
battledores and a shuttlecock, which I will teach you how to use; and
then you must come out and help me to feed my chickens. I have also a
garden of my own, and I am sure granny will let you have a piece of
ground near it, or else you shall have part of mine, and you can learn
how to keep it neat and pretty. And whenever you like you can have a
game at romps with Trusty. You must make friends with him to-day; and
if you call him by his name and give him a piece of meat, which I will
get from the cook for you, and pat his head, he will soon learn to know
you. But you must not frighten him with your whip, or he will run away
from you. He used to be beaten when he was naughty, but then he was a
little puppy, and did not know better; but now he never does anything
wrong, and if he was ever so hungry, and was told to guard the things in
the larder, or on the dining-room table, from the cat, he would not
touch the nicest dish himself, and would take care that neither the cat
nor any other dog came near them."
"I do not care about any of the things you speak of," answered Norman.
"I want my whip, and I think Susan has hid it for fear I should beat
her, and I intend to do so if she dares to treat me like a baby. I will
beat Trusty too, if he barks at me--you'll see if I don't--and he will
soon find out who is master. I am a brave boy, papa says so, and I want
to be a man as soon as I can."
"But brave and good boys do not beat either women or dogs, and I hope
you wish to be good as well as brave," said Fanny gently.
"So I am, when I have my own way," exclaimed Norman, "and my own way I
intend to have that I can tell you. Now, Fanny, go and find my whip, or
make Susan give it to you if she has got it, and if she will not, tell
her that my papa will make her when he comes home."
Fanny, wishing to please her brother, and not believing that he would
really make a bad use of his whip, hunted about for it, but in vain.
She then went and asked Susan if she had got it.
Susan replied that she knew nothing about the whip, and had last seen it
by the side of the young gentleman when he had fallen asleep in the
arm-chair.
On hearing this, Norman marched into the drawing-room, expecting to find
his whip in the place where he was supposed to have left it, but it was
not there. He searched about in all directions, as Fanny had done in
vain. He saw his grandmamma following him with her eyes, but he could
not bring himself to ask her if she knew where his whip was, and she did
not speak to him. At last, losing patience, he ran out of the room, and
joined Fanny in the garden.
"Somebody has my whip, and I will find out who it is," he muttered
angrily, "I am not going to have my things taken away. But I say,
Fanny, cannot you come out with me and buy another, I must have one just
like the last, and I will try it on Trusty's back if he comes barking at
me again."
"I cannot possibly take you out without granny's or mamma's leave, and
you must not think of buying another whip to beat Trusty, I had just
been thinking of asking cook to give you some small pieces of meat, and
I will go at once and get them, then you must call Trusty, and when he
comes to you, you must give him a piece at a time and pat his head and
he will wag his tail, and you will be friends with him in a few
minutes."
"I would rather not have him come near me unless I have my whip to beat
him if he tries to bite me," said Norman.
"Oh, he will not bite you," answered Fanny, and she ran to the kitchen
where she got some bits of meat from the cook and brought them to her
brother.
She soon found Trusty who was lying down on the rug in the dining-room,
and followed her out into the garden.
"Call Trusty, Trusty, and show him a piece of meat," she cried to her
brother.
Norman with some hesitation in his tone called to the dog as Fanny bade
him, and Trusty ran up wagging his tail. Instead of holding the meat
and letting Trusty take it, which he would have done gently, Norman
nervously threw the meat towards him, Trusty caught it, and putting up
his nose and wagging his tail drew nearer; Norman instead of giving a
piece at a time as Fanny had told him to do, fancying that the dog was
going to snatch it from him, threw the whole handful on the ground and
retreated several paces. Trusty began quickly to gobble up the meat.
"Oh, you should have given him bit by bit," said Fanny.
As soon as Trusty had finished he ran forward expecting to get some
more, when Norman fancying that the dog was going to bite him, took to
his heels and ran off screaming, while Trusty bounded playfully after
him thinking that he was running, as Fanny often did, to amuse him.
"Stop the horrid dog! he is going to kill me, stop him, stop him!"
screamed Norman as he ran towards the house.
In vain Fanny called to Trusty and ran to catch him, he kept leaping up,
however, hoping to get some more meat from the little boy who had, as he
fancied, treated him so generously.
The cries of Norman brought out his mamma.
"The naughty dog is going to bite me, and Fanny is encouraging him.
Save me, mamma, save me!" he exclaimed, as he threw himself into Mrs
Vallery's arms.
"Fanny, what is the matter," she asked, "it is very naughty of you to
let the dog frighten your little brother."
Sweet gentle Fanny feeling how innocent she was of any such intention
burst into tears.
"Indeed, dear mamma, I only tried to get Norman to play with Trusty and
to make friends with him, I did not for a moment think he would be
frightened," and she ran forward and tried to kiss her brother in order
to soothe him, but he now believed himself safe from the dog, who
sagaciously perceiving that something was wrong had stopped jumping, and
lay quietly on the ground, and as she approached he received her with a
box on the ears.
"Take that for setting the dog at me," he exclaimed maliciously.
Fanny stood hanging down her head as if she had been guilty, but really
feeling ashamed of her brother's behaviour.
"That was very naughty of you, Norman," said Mrs Vallery, holding back
the young tyrant, who was endeavouring again to strike his sister.
She then carried him into the drawing-room; Fanny followed her without a
thought of vindicating herself, but wished to try and calm her young
brother and to assure him that Trusty was only in play.
His mamma sat down with him on her knee. Mrs Leslie inquired whether
he had hurt himself.
"He has been frightened by the dog, and says that Fanny set the animal
at him," answered Mrs Vallery.
"That is impossible," observed Mrs Leslie, "Fanny could not have done
anything of the sort."
"She is a cruel thing, and wants the dog to bite me," growled out Norman
in a whining tone, still half crying.
"I will answer for it that Fanny is much more likely to have tried to
prevent the dog from frightening you, for I am sure that he would not
bite you. Come here, Fanny, I know that you will speak the truth."
Fanny felt grateful to her grandmamma for her remark, and explained
exactly what had occurred.
Mrs Vallery was convinced that she was innocent, and Norman was at last
persuaded to return with her into the garden. Fanny talked to him
gently, and tried to make him forget his fright.
"Come to the tool-house where I keep my spade and hoe and rake. There
is a little spade which I used to use, it will just suit you, and we
will go and arrange the garden you are to have," she said as they went
along.
"That is an old thing you have done with," growled Norman scornfully, as
she gave him the little spade, "I must have a new one of my own."
"I hope papa will give you one," she answered quietly, "but in the
meantime will you not use this?"
Norman took it, eyeing it disdainfully, but Fanny, making no remark, led
the way to the plot of ground the gardener had laid out for them. One
part of it was full of summer flowers, the other half she had left
uncultivated that Norman might have the pleasure of digging it up and
putting in seeds and plants.
"You have taken good care to make your own garden look pretty," he
observed, as he eyed her portion of the plot. "What am I to do with
that bare place?"
Fanny told him what her object had been, and offered to help him. She
had got several pots with nice plants, which there was still time to put
in, and a number of seeds of autumn flowers. These she promised to give
to him as soon as the ground was fit for their reception. She began
digging away in her usual energetic manner, and he for a time tried to
imitate her, but he soon grew tired.
"There, you can dig away by yourself," he said, "just as the natives do
in India in the plantations, and I will look on like an owner, and watch
that you do your work properly," and he leant back with his arms folded,
as he thought, in a very dignified way.